


Can We Just Pretend?

by CinnamonSeven



Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Brown is also a sweetie, Character Death, Emotions, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I just want them to be happy, Love, Protection, Purple is precious, The Skeld (Among Us), because i dont know the other maps, because im unoriginal, classic "imposter falls in love with crewmate" trope, i cant believe im writing a story about jelly bean video game characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:35:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27015856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CinnamonSeven/pseuds/CinnamonSeven
Summary: It was just another job. Impersonate, sabotage, slaughter. They had done it before, they would do it again. It was a well-practiced process. It was just another job.Until it wasn't.
Relationships: Black & Brown (Among Us), Black & Cyan (Among Us), Black & Mini Crewmate (Among Us), Black & Purple (Among Us), Black/Purple (Among Us), Brown/Yellow (Among Us), Crewmate & Crewmate (Among Us), Crewmate & Impostor (Among Us), Crewmate/Crewmate (Among Us), Crewmate/Impostor (Among Us), Cyan & Purple (Among Us), Impostor & Mini Crewmate (Among Us), Mini Crewmate & Purple (Among Us)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 128





	Can We Just Pretend?

**Author's Note:**

> Look, baby decided to write this fanfic, and baby's doing it. Am I proud that I'm a college dropout writing fanfiction about two jellybean-looking characters from a video game falling in love? No. Am I going to turn my life around? Not on your goddamn life.

Purple wasn't super thrilled about her job. Don't get her wrong, space was. . . _incredible_. Flying among the stars, making new friends, and exploring distant worlds - it was all something out of her childhood dreams. But, as there always is, there was a downside.

That downside just so happened to be the threat of bloodthirsty killers. (Well, and the uncomfortable suit and helmet that _always_ managed to catch her hair, but, you know. Priorities.)

Purple couldn't help but glance over her shoulder as she spliced wires together in the cafeteria. It was open, so she wasn't nearly as scared as she would've been in, say, _electrical_ , but it was still unnerving. Her nimble fingers shook inside of her annoying gloves as she connected the last wire, letting out a light huff of relief as she screwed the panel back on. She stepped back and glanced around. The cafeteria was deserted, which she found odd. It _was_ a main room and usually pretty heavy in foot traffic.

As if sensing her unease, Yellow and Brown both appeared from storage, hands intertwined between them as their shoulders pressed reassuringly together. Purple couldn't help but smile. They two were undeniably adorable together, and both of them had never been anything but pleasant to be around.

"Purple!" Yellow chirped, leading her girlfriend over. "How are your tasks coming along?"

Purple sheepishly rubbed the inside of her left wrist. "Ah, you know. Slow-going." She let out a little nervous laugh. "Avoiding electrical."

Brown's face was obscured by her visor, but Purple could still sense her smile. "No one blames you for that. We'll be happy to accompany you as soon as we finish our jobs. We've only got, what," she glanced at Yellow, "five or so between us?"

"I appreciate it, but I don't have much left. I gotta just brave it!" Purple assured with far more conviction than she felt. She could do it. She could just put on a brave face, stand her ground, and -

" **Dead body found in medbay!** "

* * *

"I found him here," Red's voice was unusually subdued, his shoulders hunched as his helmet stared solemnly down at Lime's corpse.

Lime's body was just a few feet away from the scanner. He clearly hadn't even known was what happening until it was too late. His back was punctured with several deep stab wounds, crimson pooling underneath his body. His helmet had rolled off, resting against the scanner he had been aiming for, blood matting his auburn hair to his pale face. His eyes were still open, surprise glazing over his dull blue eyes.

Purple turned her head away, eyes shutting as she fought the bile that churned in her throat.

Cyan's foot tapped the ground impatiently, fingers digging into his arms. "Well, I hate to be the bad guy here, but we can't stand here mourning all day. There's someone on board who wants to kill us and I don't intend to be mincemeat."

"Cyan!" Orange hissed, their helmet subtly gesturing towards the forlorn Red. "Have some respect."

Cyan threw his arms out, stepping away from the blood before it got on his boots. "I don't want to die, Orange!" He spun to face the others. "Who saw Lime last?"

Blue shuffled in place. "I, um, I saw him in the reactor room. . . ten-ish minutes ago?"

"And where were you after that?" Cyan accused sharply.

Blue recoiled, clearly not expecting the blatant accusation. Seeing her distress, Pink jumped in, their tone even, if slightly warning. "Blue joined me in security right after. She didn't have time to kill Lime, and she would never do something like that."

"Orange, Red, and Green were all with me in electrical," White muttered, accompanied by agreements from the aforementioned three.

Yellow gripped Brown's hand. "Brown and I were in storage, then we ran into Purple in the cafeteria."

Black, who had previously just been watching the discussion, nodded towards Cyan. "Cyan and I were in navigation. So either someone is lying - "

"Or it's the _one_ person aside from Lime who was alone the majority of the time," Cyan cut in, helmet turning sharply towards Purple.

She pulled back, shakily pointing at herself, even if it was obvious who Cyan was talking about. "M-Me? I wouldn't! There- I was fixing wires!" Her knees knocked together, chest stuttering with breaths she tried to take in. "I swear, I didn't! G-Guys, you _know_ I wouldn't!"

Yellow placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, but she leveled a cold stare at Cyan through her visor. "Take it easy, Cyan. I've known Purple for months. She's not a killer." She softened her tone, but kept it firm as she addressed the rest of the crew. "Right now, the last thing we need is to turn on each other. Everybody buddy up, finish your tasks, and be alert."

Everybody mumbled out their agreements, and they took the next few minutes to carefully wrap Lime in a sheet and set him gently on a bed. The blood was cleaned up and everyone stood in silence before dispersing to do their tasks, significantly quieter than before.

Purple brought up the end of the ground before pausing as a small whimper sounded behind her. She turned, gaze sweeping over the room before resting on Lime's abandoned helmet. As she watched, Lime's mini slowly crawled out, whimpering as they looked around for their owner. Purple sucked in a quiet breath and cautiously approached, sinking to her knees in front of them. "Hey there, little guy."

They looked up at her and whimpered.

She closed her eyes for a second, if only to stall the tears building behind her eyelids. ". . . I know. Lime is. . . gone. And he won't be back." She extended a careful hand, and the mini hesitated for a moment before nuzzling against it. "It's kinda scary here, huh? I bet you don't wanna sit here alone. Do you wanna come help me fix things for a bit? It might be more fun."

Their response was to scramble into her hand, clinging to her thumb with a tiny whine. She brought her other hand to cup underneath them, cradling them against her chest. She rose her feet and turned, nearly falling backwards with a shriek as she found herself faced with Black's silent form.

"Black!" She gasped, clutching Lime Jr. (as she dubbed them) close as she tried to catch her breath. "You scared me!"

It was kind of impressive how he managed to sneak up on her. She was fairly small and her footsteps still announced her on the metallic floor, especially in the echo-y corridors. Black towered over her by a good foot, lean and muscled beneath his spacesuit. Still, he hadn't made a sound.

"You're taking that with you?" Black questioned in his low, monotone voice.

Purple followed his gaze to Lime Jr. "I can't leave them alone. It's. . . cruel." Her eyes flickered to Lime's covered body. " _Cruel_. . . Who could've done this? Lime- Lime never did anything wrong. He didn't deserve - " She cut herself off as the lump in her throat grew too big to swallow around, her eyes burning. When she spoke again, it was just a whisper, cracking in the middle. "He didn't deserve this."

Black didn't speak for a long while. Finally, he took a step to the side (she hadn't even noticed he was blocking the door) and gestured. "We should finish our tasks. I'll accompany you."

"O-Oh. Right." Purple nodded, slowly down the remnants of her grief. "Thank you." She checked that Lime Jr. was comfortable in her arms, took a deep breath, and exited, Black's quiet footsteps behind her.

* * *

Black stared at Purple's back as they walked. His eyes narrowed as he assessed the best points to drive his knife through. He didn't share his partner's flare for showmanship - he never drew his kills out. Sure, he could stab her in the lung, fill it with fluid so she couldn't scream as he carved her into small, pretty pieces, as he watched the light slowly fade from her warm, kind green eyes, as her soft smile twisted to a silent shriek -

He shook his head, clearing those images through his brain. It was a job. Just another job. Same as always. It would be foolish to get attached to his soon-to-be victims.

"I have to download some data in communications, if that's okay." Purple turned to glance at him over her shoulder. He could see Lime Jr. nuzzling at her neck and suppressed the warm feeling that dared to rise in his chest.

He nodded. "Alright. Let's hurry."

Hurry. Right. He had his own job. His eyes traced the curve of Purple's shoulder, following it to her neck. He pinpointed the mark of her artery, calculating exactly how much force to use to end her instantaneously. His partner wasn't as well-versed in this stuff, hence why his murders tended to be more. . . messy.

"Thanks for coming with me." Once again, he was startled from his thoughts by Purple's timid voice. "I was. . . really nervous. To be by myself when there's a _murderer_ running around. . ." She shivered, covering Lime Jr. more securely. "Sorry. I know it's probably a subject you don't want to talk about. Or- Or maybe you don't want to talk at _all_ ," she laughed awkwardly, a small, nervous sound. "You're one of the more quiet people and I tend to ramble, but maybe you like the silence! That's okay!" She stopped, as if realizing her rambling. "Sorry. Sorry."

Black let the silence hang for a moment, broken only by the sounds of their footfalls. He felt his mouth move before he could stop it. "I don't mind you talking."

Purple's helmet swung towards him and he could imagine her wide eyes and surprised blush. She always had been very expressive. "O-Oh? Well. . . okay! Thanks. I - I know some people get annoyed with how much I talk, so you can tell me to stop at any time and I won't be offended, okay?"

"Okay," Black agreed, not sure what else to say.

Purple shifted a bit closer, seemingly not even aware of the movement herself as she took the cue to start up a very one-sided conversation about things she missed back on Earth. Even as the reached communications and she started the download with quick taps, she kept on, commenting on how she missed this particular dog she saw on her way to work every Tuesday.

Black listened half-heartedly, even as he tried to pinpoint the best location to kill her, who he could afford to frame. His fingers twitched and he noticed that Purple had stopped talking just in time to catch her pulling off her helmet to wipe at her eyes. Lime Jr. rested on the counter beside her, pressing against her thigh. Black held his breath as she turned to him, small enough to have to look up at him, even from a foot or so away. Her green eyes shone through her rising tears, her freckles smattered across her pale skin in a way that made him want to count them. Her dark hair was pulled back in a loose bun, a few strands fluttering around her shoulders.

He wanted to brush them back.

"It's just- It's hard, you know?" Her voice was soft, a small smile pulling up at her corners, but it was hollow. "I don't really have much family left on Earth. A few cousins that I see once or twice a year. But they could go on without me." She laughed again, even more small and hollow than before. "So, I ran to space and I _finally_ felt like I had a _real_ family." Her weak smile dropped and she stared at the ground for a moment. "Now I might lose them, too."

Black couldn't pull his eyes away from her. He knew this was a perfect time to kill her. She was vulnerable. Unaware. _Alone_. She even admitted to having no family to miss her!

But. . . he didn't. He watched her struggle to stay composed. He watched Lime Jr. press closer to her thigh and whine. He watched her gently stroke their head and take a deep breath, wiping her eyes.

She flashed him a watery smile, grabbing her helmet. "Ah, sorry. It's- It's not fair of me to dump all my mess on you when you don't- We barely know each other, and you have your own things, and you probably don't care - "

"I'm sorry," Black blurted, before he could stop himself, "about your family." He searched for words. Comforting his victims was definitely not his strong suit. "I can imagine that it would be. . . hard." He kicked himself internally for repeating her own word (he wondered when he began to care).

After her moment of surprise, she seemed. . . touched. Her cheeks reddened and her smile looked more genuine. "Yeah. But for right now, I've got you, right?"

Black really didn't know how to respond to that.

* * *

There was no report of a dead body. The alarms didn't blare, the red lights didn't come on.

Instead, a tortured scream echoed through every corridor - every _inch_ \- of the Skeld.

Purple jerked away from the calibration like it had burned her, collided with Black's sturdy chest. His hands gripped her arms to steady her and she quickly turned herself around, Lime Jr. peeking up from her chest pocket. He could feel her trembling.

"That- That's _Brown!_ " she gasped, tugging at him. "We have t- We gotta _help her!_ "

Black sprinted behind her, peering around corners where he could. Sprinting past admin, Black caught Cyan pulling himself from the vent, wiping blood from his gloves and throwing the towel back in the vent.

Purple bolted towards the crying, coming to a stop a few feet away and pulling off her helmet. Black came up behind her, immediately understanding her horror.

Brown had thrown her helmet and gloves off, her mocha-skinned hands desperately scrambling for a pulse on Yellow's bloody wrist. She was sobbing openly, howling for her lover to be alive. "Y-Yellow- Yellow, _please! Please_ , darling, please don't do this! _Wake up!_ "

Yellow's throat was slit, cracked helmet abandoned to the side, lacerations ripping her suit all the way across her chest. Her grey eyes stared up at nothing, an eerie blankness on her face. It was painfully obvious that Brown's desperate efforts of revival were in vain.

Brown seemed to realize this as well, resting her head against her girlfriend's shoulder and _wailing_.

Orange was stammering to themself in Spanish, cradling their helmet and shaking it slowly. White gripped Red's arm and Green stumbled over to the trash chute, ripping off his helmet to vomit the contents of his stomach. Pink backed away, hand raised to their visor like they were going to follow Green's example. Blue dropped to her knees next to Brown, one hand rubbing shaky, soothing circles on her friend's back, the other fisting the material of her own suit.

Purple spun around, dropping her helmet, and burying herself in Black's chest, shoulders shaking as she sobbed. He felt the front of his suit begin to collect her tears as he awkwardly rubbed her back, ignoring Cyan's blatant glare.

Slowly, Brown pulled herself to her feet, bloody fists clenched tightly at her sides. She whirled around, tears still flowing, but fire in her chocolate eyes. " _WHO?! WHO'S THE BASTARD THAT KILLED HER? SHOW YOURSELF, YOU FUCKING COWARD!_ "

"Brown. . ." Blue tried quietly, but it did nothing.

Brown stormed forward, jaw tight and teeth bared. She zeroed in on White first. " _Where were you?!_ " She swung her gaze across the group. " _Where were ALL of you?!_ "

"Brown!" Blue had stood during her rage, helmet off. The Japanese girl approached Brown, surprisingly docile. "Please. Not like this."

The fight drained from Brown and she slumped back to her knees, her breath hitching with new sobs. "I - I just. . . _Why her?!_ " She choked. "I left f-for a _second_ and- and I came back to - " She cut herself off again with a sob.

Green wiped their mouth, still looking flushed. "Who. . . Who was everyone with?"

"Purple and I have been doing tasks together," Black supplied automatically. He felt her grip his suit tighten and his own hold tightened in accordance.

Blue grabbed her helmet, sliding it back on. "Orange, Red and I have been around the left side of the ship."

"Why did you leave her?" White cocked her head at Brown, her tone slow.

Brown hiccupped and Pink instantly stepped between them, making themself bigger than they actually were. "Don't even _think_ of blaming her! You know she'd never hurt Yellow!"

White quickly stepped back, raising her hands in surrender. "I'm not blaming! I was just asking, because the killer couldn't have passed her!"

Pink stayed put for a moment before standing down. Brown wiped her eyes and gathered her breath. "She- She had to download data so. . . I ran to weapons to accept the power I diverted from electrical. I was gone for. . . maybe two minutes." Her eyes welled with fresh tears. "I shouldn't have left!"

"This isn't your fault," Blue murmured, kneeling by her again.

"What about the rest of you?" Red questioned. "Green, White, Pink, Cyan. Where were you? Who were you with?"

Green ran a hand through his sweaty hair. "I ran to communications when they went down and I met Pink down there. We were coming back out when we heard. . ." He trailed off.

"I was cleaning the filter in oxygen," White answered, toeing the ground.

"And I was in admin," Cyan said, nodding towards Black. "Black saw me coming out when we were coming here." He stared through his visor at Black, clearly waiting for the other to confirm.

Black felt Purple shuddering under his hands. ". . . yeah. I saw him."

Silence fell over the group. Everyone had an alibi and someone to confirm it. They had no evidence. They had no leads. But two people were dead and any one of them could be next.

"Buddy system," Pink's tone left no room for argument. "Everyone stay with someone this time. No excuses. We can't - " Their voice cracked and they paused for a moment. "This can't happen again."

Red reached out and grabbed Orange's hand. "I'll go with Orange." He waited for a nod. "We'll stick together."

Cyan looked towards Black, clearly trying to convey a message. "Black and I can be together. Right?"

Purple looked up at him, blinking her wide eyes, and he sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll go with Cyan." He gently pulled away from her, trying to ignore the betrayed look on her face.

"Then Purple will stay with me," Pink stated, picking up the girl's helmet and handing it back.

Blue looked up from where she was still comforting Brown. "We'll stay together and. . . take care of Yellow."

"Then White and I, I guess," Green finished up. "Everyone agreed? Good. Stay safe, everyone."

* * *

Purple walked beside Pink, chewing on her bottom lip anxiously. Pink was great - really! They were smart and kind, and they stood up for people. They were the first person to stand up for Blue when Cyan had pointed fingers. Purple liked Pink.

But. . . she missed the silent support of Black. She missed his tall stature watching over her as she did her tasks. She missed him letting her ramble on, and she missed his strong hands hold her, and she missed his quiet comments, and - 

Well, she missed _Black._

It was crazy, really. She had known some of the people on this ship for months and she loved them to death (bad choice of words, she winced), but she couldn't help but feel _protected_ around Black. He made her feel safe. Safe in an impossibly dangerous situation.

Lime Jr. crooned from her pocket and she startled, gently stroking a finger over their head. She whispered a few sweet words to them, waiting until they settled.

"It was sweet of you to take them in," Pink spoke suddenly, causing Purple to stumble over her own feet. The taller crewmate grabbed her arm and helped her steady her footing. "I'm sure they would've been lonely."

Purple glanced down at Lime Jr., who was quickly falling asleep. "Yeah. I couldn't just leave them." Silence settled between them for a beat. "This is terrifying."

Pink chuckled dryly. "Couldn't agree with you more." They stopped as Purple turned towards a download pad. "I've heard about missions gone wrong, but," they shook their head, "this should never have happened."

"Did you get a response from HQ?" Purple tossed a questioning glance over her shoulder as she started the download.

Even through a visor, she could see Pink's face fall. "No. No, someone's cut our direct line and it's too easy to mess it up if you aren't used to it. We have to get to the nearest comm station." Their shoulders tightened. "The only person who would've been able to fix it would've been. . ."

"Lime," Purple finished quietly. The download chimed that it was finished.

"Yeah," Pink agreed. matching her volume. "That's. . . probably why they got him first."

Purple swallowed thickly and they both continued, tension between them at the spoken revelation. They continued on, Pink emptying the trash chute and both of them working on fixing wiring. They were grabbing gasoline to refuel the engines when an alarm cut the air. Purple dropped the half-filled jug, exchanging a look with Pink before both of them sprinted towards the reactor.

"Can't we just get a break?" Pink grunted as they rounded the lower engine.

Entering the reactor, both of them stopped dead in their tracks, hearts dropping.

White and Green both laid on the floor, dead.

Pink gripped Purple's shoulder tightly. "Get the other side." They shoved her towards one of the stabilizing prints, heading to the other, slamming their fist into the alarm button and turning on the intercom. "Bodies found in reactor!" They pulled off their glove and pressed their hand to the print scan.

Purple swallowed her gag, pulling off her glove as well, completing the scan and setting the reactor to nominal. Just as she turned, Red and Orange ran in, Blue and Brown in tow. A second of horrified exclamations later, Cyan and Black entered. Purple managed to restrain herself from flinging herself into Black's arms, but she was sure he noticed some of the tension in her shoulders ease.

Green's helmet had been kicked away, neck snapped cleanly. White was given no such luxury. She had been beheaded while in helmet, her severed neck barely poking out from the covering. Both of them had a glove off, signifying that they had been caught while trying to fix the reactor.

Purple's blood chilled as a horrifying thought struck her. _'That could have been Pink and me.'_

"God _dammit!_ " Red slammed his fist into the wall. "What happened?! Who broke the buddy system?!"

"I don't think anyone did," Pink correctly, kneeling next to Green. "Green and White are both fairly strong, not to mention fast." They stood. "One person wouldn't have been able to kill them both- Not without one of them getting away to get help."

Orange swallowed. "So, you're saying there's two killers?"

Blue breathed out a strangled _'oh god'_ before turning away, Brown staring at the floor beside her. Purple shuffled as inconspicuously as she could to Black's side, feeling safer as her hand brushed his.

"Who still has tasks to do?" Pink asked, surveying everyone in the room. "If we finish our jobs, we can all group in in the cafeteria."

Purple swallowed. "I have, um, I have tasks in. . . electrical."

A moment of sympathetic silence. Everyone knew the danger that lurked in electrical.

"I have one or two things to do in navigation," Orange forced out, "and I know that Brown has to prime the shields."

Cyan cleared his throat. "I propose we split in half. Black, Purple, Red, and I can head to electrical. You four head towards navigation and shields." He shrugged. "Then we meet back in the cafeteria. That work?"

Purple wasn't going to argue with _anything_ if it meant she could stick by Black. "It works for me."

No one protested. Purple scooped the wriggling Lime Jr. into her hands and nuzzled them.

Black just watched her.

* * *

"I know it sounds stupid," Purple murmured to Black, "but I feel safer when you're with me."

She almost missed the way his steps faltered. "Safer? Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know." She paused at the entrance to electrical. "Oh boy. Here we go." She stepped inside.

It was like crossing a threshold to a darker realm. The lighting was low, the walls were peeling, and the whole room buzzed with unstable wiring. It felt dangerous.

"Well, let's get this over with," Cyan sighed, sounding almost bored.

Purple was about to voice her agreement when she heard the doors shut behind them. She spun around, shrieking as she watched Cyan withdraw a bloody, serrated knife from Red's abdomen.

"The killer!" She stumbled backwards, into Black's chest. "Bl-Black! We have to sound the alarm!"

Cyan laughed, dark and mocking. "Yeah, _Black_. Sound the alarm." He shook his head. "Seriously, you should've taken care of this _way_ sooner. What the hell were you thinking?"

Purple felt something very cold grow in her chest. "Black. . . what- what is he talking about?" She stared up at him for a moment before the blood drained from her face and she pulled away, backing away from both of them. "You- You're the other killer. You're both imposters."

"Bra _vo!_ " Cyan clapped sarcastically. "So she _can_ think! Guess what your prize is~!"

Purple backed up, even as her back pressed against a wall and Lime Jr. started whimpering from her pocket. "No. . . please! _Get away from me!_ " Her eyes sought out Black and she pleaded through her visor for something - _anything_.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Cyan chuckled as he advanced.

Purple squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for her end, waiting for the pain of death to take her, _waiting for the betrayal, the darkness -_

"Stand down."

Purple cracked open an eye, to be met to black fabric covering a sturdy back. The sturdy back of a tall man. One who just placed himself in front of her. Between her and someone who wanted her dead.

Cyan seemed just as stunned. Then he laughed. "Oh, you want some fun?" He raised his hands. "Hey, I won't stop you, man! Go nuts!"

Purple waited for Black to turn around and force cold steel between her ribs, straight into her lung. Instead, he squared his shoulders. "No."

"'No'?" Cyan echoed. "Black, buddy, if we want our payload, Little Miss Lilac over there has to go. And I want that payload." He waited. "Oh no. Wait, no, don't tell me you've actually gone _soft_ for these idiots?!" He pointed the knife at Purple and she flinched. "For _her?!_ She's just a job! Either kill her, or fuckin' move so I can do _your_ job!"

Black didn't say anything for a second. Then he sighed. "Alright. Give me the knife."

"About damn time!" Cyan handed it over, snorting. "Jesus, man, don't ever do that shit again - " He cut himself off with a strangled choke as Black plunged the knife into Cyan's chest. A shaking hand came up to rest on the knife handle, then Cyan slumped, hitting the ground.

Black stepped back, nudging the body once to make sure it was actually dead. Purple stared at him, her emotions having spun around so fast that she just felt numb.

"I'm sorry," Black whispered.

Purple didn't even get a chance to formulate a response. The door open and Pink rushed in, stilling once they saw the scene. "What the - "

Black was already starting to raise his hands in surrender. Purple lunged forward, grasping a hand in her own and tugging it down. "It- It was Cyan! He stabbed Red behind us and- and tried to attack me, but Black. . . Black saved me." Her voice grew quieter and she ignored the incredulous look she was receiving from the figure beside her. "Black saved me," she repeated, more firmly.

Blue peered over Pink's shoulder before rushing to Red's side, pressing her fingers to his wrist. "He's alive. Barely. Losing too much blood. We need to get him to the medbay. _Now_."

"Shit. Grab him," Pink commanded, falling into leader-mode. "We'll deal with. . . _all of this_ later."

Purple released Black's limp hand and moved forward. She didn't make eye contact with him again.

* * *

"Why didn't you rat me out?"

Purple barely paused before removing her second glove, lying it on the dresser next to a content Lime Jr. "Why didn't you kill me?"

Black stood in the doorway for a moment longer before entering, helmet off for the first time. His tousled black hair wasn't cut remarkably short, piercing blue eyes peering through the strands. "They say Red's going to be just fine."

"That's good," Purple mumbled, untying her boots and setting them aside.

"You're not afraid to turn your back to me," Black commented. "Why are you- You don't. . ." He huffed, frustrated as he tried to piece together his words. "I don't understand."

Purple finally faced him fully, crossed her bare arms over her chest, which was stripped of its suit and covered by a pale violet tank top. "When Lime was killed in the medbay," she started, "and I took in Lime Jr.," she licked her lips, "were you going to kill me then?"

Black sighed and lowered his eyes to the floor. "Yes. I was."

She didn't seem put off by the knowledge. "What changed your mind?"

"I. . ." Black trailed off, looking for an answer. "You did, I guess. You took in Lime Jr., and _talked_ to me, and just. . . were _you_." He wrung his fingers together. "I couldn't do it."

"But you killed Green."

Black flinched. ". . . I did."

Purple searched his face, looking for a hint of deceit or malice, finding none. She exhaled and shuffled forward resting her forehead on his strong chest. She ignored the way he tensed under her. "Green didn't deserve it."

"None of them did," he agreed quietly. "It was wrong. _I_ was wrong."

Her arms came up to wrap around his waist in response. He hesitated, but brought his up to encircle her, resting on the small of her back. She exhaled again, quieter. "I don't want to forgive you so easily. I want to hate you. I want to tell everyone and get you thrown out." There was a lull. "But. . . I can't."

"I wouldn't blame you."

"I _can't_ ," she repeated, insistent. "I _like_ you. I want to be around you. I want you to make me feel safe." Her fingers dug into the back of his suit. "But you can't do this. You can't hurt people. You can't be a killer." She pulled back, enough to look directly into his eyes. "I can't do this if you don't mean it."

He tightened his embrace, pouring every bit of sincerity he could into his next three words. "I mean it."

Purple stared at him for three pounds of his heart. Then she leaned up on her tip-toes, brought a hand up to pull his head down, and pressed her lips to his.

" _I mean it too._ "

**Author's Note:**

> Oof. That's that, then. Hope y'all enjoyed. Maybe not, but I'm not taking it down.


End file.
